PROTEINS INSIGHTS

Proteins are one of the essential macronutrients that humans need to consume through dietary sources to support optimal health. Proteins in fact serve a great variety of functions at the cellular level: they are involved, for instance, in the catalysis of metabolic reactions, response to stimuli, transport of molecules, etc.

As we are all very aware now, we need to be mindful of the source from which we get our protein: although meats and fish tend to have the highest level of proteins, plant-based proteins appear to be a win both for the human and the planet health. Cultivated (or cultured) meat is recently growing interest as it eliminates the need to raise and farm animals for food while still producing animal-based proteins. This literature review is therefore organised into two macro-areas:

1. a focus on plant proteins and the methodologies exploited to improve their quality (and therefore consumption). The first review provides an overview of plant-based proteins that should help sustain a better life for humans and the environment, with a focus on the emerging technologies for improving plant proteins’ bioavailability, digestibility, and organoleptic properties. The second study covers recent advances in plant-derived protein modifications using Maillard conjugation to improve, for example, plant proteins’ stability and pH sensitivity. The second abstract discusses current limitations and future directions for improving plant proteins’ flavor profiles, which currently limit their use.
   2) a focus on cultivated meat. The first review tackles the challenges associated with meat cultivated production workflow and the exploited cell sources. The second paper focuses on the scaffolding technologies that need to be used to fully mimic conventional meat’s organoleptic and nutritional properties, while the last study proposes 3D-printable plant protein-enriched scaffolds cultivated meat development.